Francesco Penso called "Cabianca" (1665? — 1737) was an Italian sculptor. His earliest known work is the marble ''St. Benedict'' (1695) for San Michele in Isola, Venice. His best-known work is the reliquary (1711), with bas-reliefs of the Crucifixion, Deposition of Christ and the Pietà, for the sacristy in the

Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari The Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, commonly abbreviated to ''the Frari'', is a church located in the Campo dei Frari at the heart of the San Polo district of Venice, Italy. It is the largest church in the city and it has the status ...

, Venice. Penso was born and died in

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

. He spent the decade 1698–1708 in

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; ; ) is a historical region located in modern-day Croatia and Montenegro, on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. Through time it formed part of several historical states, most notably the Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Croatia (925 ...

, where he provided sculptures for the high altar with Saints John, Dominic, Bruno and Chiara for Santa Chiara, Cattaro (

Kotor Kotor (Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Котор, ), historically known as Cattaro (from Italian language, Italian: ), is a town in Coastal Montenegro, Coastal region of Montenegro. It is located in a secluded part of the Bay of Kotor. The city has ...

), an altar for San Giuseppe and the marble altar of the chapel of St. Tryfon, in San Trifone. In Venice are his limestone ''Bellona'', goddess of War, at the entrance to the

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

. In niches on the façade of the church of the Gesuiti are ''St. John the Evangelist'' and ''St. James'' with ''St. Andrew'' atop the balustrade. His bas-relief of the martyrdoms of the patron saints fills the tympanum of Santi Simeone e Giuda. On the staircase of the Seminario Patriarcale are bas-relief panels illustrating ''Jacob's Dream'' and the ''Vision of the Orphan''. ''The Martyrdom of the Saints'' in the Church San Simeone Piccolo Several of his life-size marble figures are in the

Summer Garden The Summer Garden () is a historic public garden that occupies an eponymous island between the Neva, Fontanka, Moika, and the Swan Canal in downtown Saint Petersburg, Russia and shares its name with the adjacent Summer Palace of Peter th ...

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

: a ''Saturn'', ''Vertumnus'' and ''Pomona'' (1717), an ''Antinous'' (1722).The commissions from

Peter the Great Peter I (, ; – ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia, Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of Russia, Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned j ...

are discussed by Sergej Androsov in ''Pietro il Grande collezionista d'arte veneta'' (Venice, 1999) p. 218, no. 40, and ''Pietro il Grande e la scultura italiana'', (Saint Petersburg, 2004).

Notes

1660s births 1737 deaths Republic of Venice sculptors 17th-century Italian sculptors Italian male sculptors 18th-century Italian sculptors 18th-century Italian male artists {{Italy-sculptor-stub